Guinea pig won’t eat any greens!

[Hnrpiggies]

trying to feed one of my guineas his daily veg is really difficult! He WILL NOT eat greens. I don’t know what I can give him daily to meet his dietary requirements. I’ve tried him with cucumber, green beans, romaine lettuce, cabbage, kale, asparagus and spring greens. He just has a problem with green food. He will eat literally anything else. Peppers, carrots, Anything that’s not green.
I’ve tried hand feeding in the cage, hand feeding out the cage, putting it in the cage and leaving it there for him, feeding only greens but he’s having none of it.
He will eat grass, broccoli, spinach, parsley and corriander but nothing else green- not even green peppers.
is there a way I can adapt to his preferences while still meeting all of his nutritional needs and not giving him too much calcium or overdoing it. He’s starting to stress me out because I’m worried he isn’t getting the nutrients he needs to be a healthy piggy.
Physically, he seems fine, good weight - maybe even a little chunky, active, happy, Good hair, skin, ears, eyes and teeth. I just don’t know why he won’t eat green food! He hasn’t since I got him a few months ago. He’s about 1.5-2 years old.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Hay needs to be the biggest part of his diet, so as long as he is eating hay then that’s good.
Will he eat grass? That is the other thing which is ideal for their diet.
Do you know if he did eat greens before he came to you? Does he live with another piggy who is happy to at greens?
Maybe he just doesn’t like those veg though!

 

[Shelley anne]

I think its great he is eating grass and perhaps you can work up to giving lots of that. I give lots of grass.
You may just have to go with it. My friend has a rabbit like that who will only eat kale and grass. This was what it got before she got it. You can only try but at the end of the day, they will eat what they will eat. Try not to stress, I believe they will pick up on this.

 

[Hnrpiggies]

Yeah

Hay needs to be the biggest part of his diet, so as long as he is eating hay then that’s good.
Will he eat grass? That is the other thing which is ideal for their diet.
Do you know if he did eat greens before he came to you? Does he live with another piggy who is happy to at greens?
Maybe he just doesn’t like those veg though!

yeah he will eat grass. But will he still get all of the nutrients he needs? I’m not sure if he did before I got him because he was a rescue. He used to live with a friend but when I brought them into the same room and my 4 girls, they started fighting to the point of making each other bleed so I had to separate them. They’re still near each other and I let them out in a run that’s halved with c&c grids.

 

[Hnrpiggies]

I think its great he is eating grass and perhaps you can work up to giving lots of that. I give lots of grass.
You may just have to go with it. My friend has a rabbit like that who will only eat kale and grass. This was what it got before she got it. You can only try but at the end of the day, they will eat what they will eat. Try not to stress, I believe they will pick up on this.

Is he going to miss out on any vital nutrients though? That’s my worry.

 

[Seven7]

Is he going to miss out on any vital nutrients though? That’s my worry.

Don’t give up on giving them veggies, they will come around to eating veggies once they get used to them. They need different nutrients veggies can provide to stay healthy.
My Finn and Lara get a cup and a half of veggies per day per piggy. Mine are used to eating large varieties of veggies because I never quit giving them different types of veggies. Mine also get limitless Oxbow hay.

The only thing I quit giving them are the Pellets. They get very minimum amount of pellets because I replaced pellets with veggies.

 

[Robin_]

As long as a good fortified pellet is given (in the usual sparing quantity of 1 tbsp per pig) lack of nutrients shouldn't be a huge issue. That, and, as stated, hay and grass already have plenty of nutrients, but since you're lacking the variety that makes a pellet-free diet work I'd make sure he's on a good one if not already.

 

[ozzyandtrevorGP]

Greens are not a giant part of the Guinea pig diet, in fact, 3/4 of it is hay! Although it is healthy to eat greens, the fruit and veg your guinea pig was said to eat is just fine. But at least some greens must be involved in your piggy's diet. Force feeding is not a good way to give your guinea pig food, but maybe sneaking greens into your guinea pigs pellets, veg, and hay could be a way. If not, try visiting a vet, this could be a sign of illness or near death. (But please don't worry about that, the worst thing you can do is worry, just keep calm.) Vets will discuss what is wrong with them if there actually is anything wrong, and if not, they will discuss with you how to give them greens again, or if its anything to worry about at all.

 

[Siikibam]

@ozzyandtrevorGP not eating veg isn’t a sign of illness or near death. Please try not to write something scary like that, particularly if lots of people read it and don’t know any better. Some guinea pigs haven’t been fed veg previously and may not have learnt from elders that they’re safe to eat.

what I would try is maybe herbs first - coriander and bell pepper. Keep putting it in the cage daily and if it’s not eaten then take it away. I had to do that with my girls as they didn’t like celery. Eventually they would have a nibble and now eat it. They’ll leave it for something else but at least they can eat it. Sometimes it’s a matter of persistence, particularly if they haven’t encountered them before or haven’t learnt from older pigs what is safe to eat.